Penn State coach James Franklin said he thinks the program is "ahead of schedule" despite back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Michigan State. (Holly Hart / AP)

Fans might not agree right now — which James Franklin readily acknowledged — but the Penn State coach said Wednesday that his program remains ahead of schedule.

Penn State is 4-2 after consecutive one-possession losses to Ohio State and Michigan State for the second consecutive year. The Lions visit Indiana on Saturday, when they’ll seek to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2015.

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That’s the essence of Franklin’s reference. After back-to-back 7-6 seasons to start his career, Franklin’s record is 26-7. The Lions have won a Big Ten title, reached two New Year’s Six bowl games and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25.

Asked whether a team can “outperform” its place on its developmental schedule, Franklin essentially said yes.

Considering he took over a team expecting a multi-year rebuild from the sanctions era, Franklin said that most people would call those results better than anticipated — particularly if they took a “10-year, deep, really deep, dive into the program” and compared it to peer programs.

“Right now when I say this, people kind of look at you like you’re crazy,” Franklin told reporters after practice. “But I think for what we’ve done to date, I think probably most people would say we’re ahead of schedule.

“… Obviously this season is going to be interesting as it plays out to be able to determine that. But I’d say, overall, [we’re] ahead.”

The coach has used the “ahead-of-schedule” argument before, notably during Penn State’s run to the 2016 Big Ten title. Franklin’s effort to contextualize the past two weeks also mirrored what he said following Saturday’s 21-17 loss to Michigan State.

Though 0-4 against Ohio State and Michigan State the past two seasons, the Lions have lost those games by a combined total of 9 points.

“Although they are painful, I’d rather be in situations where you’ve lost five games by 12 points than other places that are trying to figure out how not to lose games by larger margins,” Franklin said, noting his team’s past five losses dating to the 2017 Rose Bowl.